Grain-car door.



H, W. RICHARDS.

GRAIN OAR DOOR. APPLIOATION FILED OCT. 17,1 908.

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GRAIN GAR DOOR APPLIUATION FILED 00?. 17, 1908..

941,099. Patented Nov. 23, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

H. W. RICHARDS.

GRAIN GAR DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED OOT. 17,1903.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERBERT W. RICHARD$, 0F OAK PARK, ILLINOIS.

GRAIN-CAR- DOOR.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT XV. RIGH- ARDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oak Park, in the county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain-Car Doors, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to improvements in grain-car doors and has for its object to provide a strong and rigid door that can be constructed at small expense and almost entirely of metal sheets and bars of ordinary form as found upon the market; that can be readily opened to permit grain in the car to be discharged; that can be easily raised out of the way near the roof of the car; and to generally improve the construction and operation of devices of this charactor. I accomplish these objects by the construction illustrated in the drawings and hereinafter specifically described.

That which I believe to be new will be set forth in the claims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved door in closed position and a portion of a car, the View being taken from the outer side. Fig. 2 is a top or plan view of the door in closed position, aportion of the car being shown, partly in section, the section being taken at line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail, being a section taken at line 33 of Fig. 1, showing the locking means employed at the lower edge of the door on the outer side thereof. Fig. 4 is an inner face view of the door, showing also the counter weightattachments thereto. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken at line 55 of Fig. 1, through the door and a portion of the car. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section through the door and a portion of the car, showing the posit-ion of the door and the locking bar carried thereby when the door is partially opened to permit the initial discharge of grain from the car. Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken at line 77 of Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a vertical section through the door and a portion of the car showing the door elevated and secured to the car-roof. Fig. 9 is a detail, illustrating one of the locking devices at each side of the door. Fig. 10 is a detail, illustrating one of the sockets that the locking bar carried by the door engages. Fig. 10 is a detail, illus- Specification of Letters Patent. Patented N v 23, 1909. Application filed October 17, 1908.

Serial No. 458,297.

trating the pivoted.

In the several figures of the drawings, like parts are indicated by the same reference characters.

The door is composed of two principal parts which are indicated by 11 and 12, the part 11 extending over the greater portion of the width of the car door opening, and the part 12 filling the remainder of the space. These parts 11 and 12 are composed of heavy sheet-metal sections or plates, and to one face,namely that face forming the inner side of the door,are riveted vertical stiffening pieces or ribs, which, in the construction shown, are formed of ordinary angle iron. These vertical angle irons on the part 11 are indicated by 13, 14 and 15, and the vertical angle iron on the inner face of the part 12 is indicated by 16. Each of the parts 11 and 12 also has an angle iron attached along its upper and lower edges, these being indicated respectively on the part 11 by 17 and 18 and on the part 12 by 19 and 20. As clearly shown in Fig. t, and also as shown in Fig. 7, the angle irons 18 and 20 at the lower edge are so disposed with relation to the door sections that the horizontal portions of the angle irons are substantially flush with the edge of the door, while the angle irons 17 and 19 are so dis posed that the edges of their vertical flanges are substantially flush with the edge of the door, thus leaving their horizontal flanges a short distance below such upper edge. By reason of the cross-sectional angularity of the bars 17, there is provided a strengthening structure extending throughout the length of each section, and as the sections are hingedlyconnected at one side of the center of the door, it will be readily understood that the central portion of the door is rigidly supported against the bulging effect of the weight of the grain. The object in so disposing the upper angle irons 17 and 19 is that they may form by their horizontal portions narrow shelves upon which the edges of wide boards or supplemental doors may be placed when the car is loaded higher than ordinarily, as is the common practice in the use of grain doors. By reason of the shelves or ledges formed by the horizontal parts of the angle irons 17 and 19 being disposed below the upper edge of the door, no

plate to which the locking bar is crack or opening will be left when the supq plemental doors or boards are used through which grain can escape.

21 indicates the hinges on the inner face of the door by which the two sections 11 and 12 are connected together. As shown in Fig. l, one leaf of each of the hinges is riveted to the angle iron 16, the other leaf of each hinge, in the construction shown, lying under the angle iron 15. The outer face of the door section 12 is provided also along its upper and lower edges with strengthening ribs formed of angle irons, the same being indicated by 22 and 23, respectively, and at each of the outer side edges of the door sections 11 and 12 there are provided respectively vertical bars formed of angle irons, the same being indicated by 2st and 25, respectively, the same being so disposed that each of them will fit against the inner face and the side face of one of the posts or jambs at the side of the car doorway, as clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

26 indicates a locking bar formed in the construction shown of an ordinary piece of channel iron, such bar extending across the doorway and being adapted to fit at its ends in pockets 27 and 28 that are riveted to the vertical angle irons 2st and 25, respectively. As shown, each of these pockets is formed of a short piece of channel iron, the web and one flange of which has been cut off so that the other and longer flange can be turned up to close one end of the pocket, as clearly shown in Fig. 10. The pocket. 27 has its upper end left open, while the pocket 28 will be reversecL-that is, its lower end will be open while the upper end will be closed by the turning of one of its flanges. The locking bar 26 is pivoted centrally to a plate 29 which, as shown, is formed of a short section of wide channel iron. 30 and 31 indicate diagonal braces each secured at one end to the door section 12 and each secured at its other end to one of the flanges of the short channel iron section 29, to which section 29 the locking bar 26 is pivoted by a suitable pivot 32. It will be noted that the diagonal brace 30 rests upon the upper flange of the short channel iron section 29 at the left-hand half of said section 29, while the diagonal brace 31 bears against the other flange of the section 29 at the right-hand side thereof. These two flanges of the section 29 are cut away for a portion of their length, as best shown in Fig. 10 This permits of a sutlicient turning of the locking bar 26 on its pivot 32 to release its ends from engagement with the pockets 27 28, but those portions of the flanges of the section 29 to which the diagonal braces 30*31 are attached prevent such bar from being completely rotated on its pivot.

33 indicates a flat plate riveted to the inner face of the locking bar 26, this plate being so located as to come opposite the oint between the door sections 11 and 12 (see Figs. 5 and 6) so as to insure by pressing at that point that the door sections are kept in alineinent when the door is closed, thus preventing any crack or opening through which leakage of grain might occur.

34: indicates a sliding bolt on the outside of the door section 11 and preferably centrally of the door as a whole, which bolt is adapted to be forced down into an opening in the sill of the car, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, and as indicated in Fig. 1. This bolt is preferably formed of a. flat heavy piece of metal, and to its outer face is riveted small bracket 35 by which to operate the bolt.

36 indicates two latches, one at each side of the door as a whole, each latch being piv otally connected to one of the vertical angle irons at the outer face of the door and each adapted to engage a pin 37 secured to the door frame. These latches 36 and the bolt 34L are to be employed for holding the door as a whole in position within the doorway when there is no pressure of grain inside to hold the door against theposts at the side of the door.

38 indicates a short chain secured at one end to the locking bar 26 near that end of the bar that engages the pocket 27 such chain carrying at its end a hook 39 that is adapted to be inserted through a hole etO (see Fig. 10) in the pocket 27,such hook being inserted after the locking bar is in place in the pocket. This hook will project sufficiently over the lower flange of the looking bar 26 to prevent such locking bar being removed from the pocket. It is contemplated to also connect to this hook a car seal of any of the usual varieties so as to indicate whether or not a car has been unlawfully opened.

4-1 indicates another chain connected at one end to the locking bar 26 at a point between its pivot and the end that engages the pocket 27 and connected at its other end to the face of the door section 11, the connection to the door section 11 being, for purposes of strength, at a point opposite one of the vertical angle iron ribs, as for example as shown in Fig. 6.

e2 indicates brackets secured to the inner face of the door near the upper corners thereof, to each of which brackets is attached a chain or cable as that passes over a pulley 4a, and thence over another pulley L5, and having attached at its end a suitable counter weight 46. The two sets of pulleys 4% and 45 are mounted in brackets suitably secured to the roof of the car.

VVith the door in position across the doorway and with the car loaded with grain, when it is desired to open the door the operator, after first withdrawing the small hook 39 from the hole 40 in the pocket 27, will turn the locking bar 26 on its pivot 32 sufliciently to force its ends out of the pockets 27-28. The pressure of the grain in the car will then tend to force the door outward, the parts turning on their hinges 21, and, if no obstruction outside of the car is encountered, the door will be forced entirely away from the doorway and hang outside of the car by the chains 43, such chains, however, tending to hold the upper part of the door inward, and consequently the lower portion will be forced out farther than the upper portion. Ordinarily, however, the car will be opened adjacent to a platform and in that event the lower portion of the door, along the line where the two parts are hinged together, will be forced out until it hits against such platform while the upper part will remain in contact with the cardoor posts. In Fig. 6 I have illustrated about the position that the parts will assume when opened against a platform, a portion of the platform being indicated by A. The extreme angle at which the two parts of the door can stand with relation to each other when opened, is illustrated in said Fig. 6, and is regulated by the length of the chain 41 which connects the larger part 11 of the door and the locking bar 26. Forcing the door sections to their extreme angular relation to each other as shown in said Fig. 6, aifords a suflicient exit for the grain between the still of the car and the door and at the same time the two door portions are maintained in such a relative position to each other that they are at all times readily movable into alinement again, either for the purpose of closing the door opening or for being lifted toward the roof of the car when the car is to be loaded with freight other than grain. The diagonal braces 30 and 31 are, as stated, permanently affixed to the door section 12, and act to rigidly support the locking bar 26 that is pivoted to the plate carried by the ends of these diagonal bars.

hen a sufiicient quantity of grain has escaped by the opening of the door as shown in Fig. 6 to relieve substantially all the pressure against the inner face of the door, the door sections can be pushed into alinement again and locked in such position by turning the locking bar 26 into engagement with the pockets 2728 and the door can then easily be moved upward in a direct ine, owing to the pulling action of the counter weights 46. By the use of these counter weights, I am able to dispense entirely with the ordinary vertical guide rods that are usually employed on the inner side of the car adjacent to the doorway and with which grain car the door thus raised to its highest position, it can be turned up out of the way so as to lie adjacent to the roof of the car and be secured in such elevated position by means doors are connected. \Vith of a book 47 that engages an eye or staple 48 secured to the inner face of the door near its lower edge, as shown in Fig. 8.

\Vhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. A grain-car door having secured on its inner face adjacent to its upper edge an angle iron arranged with its horizontallydisposed flange below the said upper edge of the door to support the central portion of the door at its upper edge and to form a support for a board or auxiliary door.

2. The combination with a grain-car door comprising two sections arranged edge to edge and hinged together, of a locking bar, a support to which said locking bar is pivoted, said support being located opposite one of said door sections and carried by and rigid with the other of said sections, a flexi ble connection between said bar and that one of the door sections opposite the said support to which the bar is pivoted, and a pocket on the face of each door section adapted to receive one of the ends of said bar.

8. In a grain car door, two sections arranged edge to edge and hinged together, a locking bar, a support to which said looking bar is pivotally connected, said support being carried by and rigid with one of said sections and extending opposite the other section, said support extending into the plane of the pivotal path of movement of said bar, and pockets adapted to receive the ends of said bars.

4. The combination with a grain car door comprising two sections arranged edge to edge and hinged together, of diagonal braces rigidly secured to one door section and extending opposite the other of said sections, a support secured to the free ends of said braces, a locking bar pivotally carried by said support, and pockets adapted to receive the ends of said bar.

5. The combination with a grain car door comprising two sections arranged edge to edge and hinged together, of diagonal braces rigidly secured to one door section and extending opposite the other of said sections, a support secured to the free ends of said braces, a lockin bar pivotally carried by said support, said bar being positioned relative to its support and said braces to cause said parts to be in approximate vertical alinement, and pockets adapted to receive the ends of said bar.

6. The combination with a grain car door comprising two sections arranged edge to edge and hinged together, said sections being of unequal length, diagonal braces rigidly secured to the section of shortest length and projecting beyond said section to a point approximately midway of the length of the door when the latter is in alined position, the free ends of said braces being spaced apart, a locking bar support secured to and connecting the free ends of said braces, a locking bar pivotally carried by said support, and pockets adapted to receive the ends of said bar.

7. The combination with a grain car door comprising two sections arranged edge to edge and hinged together, of diagonal braces rigidly secured to one door section and extending opposite the other door section, a locking bar support secured to said braces, said support comprising a channeled plate having each of its flanged portions partially cut away, a locking bar pivotally carried by said plate, and pockets adapted to receive the ends of said bar.

8. The combinatlon with a grain car door comprising two sections arranged edge to edge and hinged together, of diagonal braces rigidly secured to one tending opposite the other door section, said braces having their free ends spaced apart, a locking bar support comprising a channeled plate having each of 1ts flanged portions partially cut away, said plate being mounted between said free ends of the braces, the flanges of said plate being secured to the braces, a locking bar pivotally carried by said plate, and pockets adapted to receive the ends of said bar.

HERBERT V, RICHARDS. Witnesses:

ALBERT H. ADAMS, WILLIAM H. DE BUsK.

door section and eX- 

